Yogyakarta to Bromo

My last evening in Yogya so time to sample more of the local cuisine.  I've been recommended to try Gado Gado, so venturing into the unknown the dish duly arrives in front of me.  I think I've found another Asian cooking style to inflict on friends and family back home.  Gado Gado is essentially a plate of al dente mixed vegetables and lemongrass accompanied by a hard boiled egg, served on a bed of lettuce, tomato and cucumber and covered in a curry satay sauce, topped off with prawn noodles.  And excellent it is too.

As you might be able to tell, I'm eating vegetarian on my travels where possible.  Not just because I'm generally reducing the meat content in my diet, but you're less likely to pick up tummy bugs by avoiding meat products while eating in some pretty dodgy restaurants and street stalls.  And so far so good - no problems at all and my "just in case" pills stay safely stashed in the bottom of my pack.

Sunday morning and it's off to Bromo in eastern Java, and while the west around Jakarta is predominantly flat, the east is characterised by more rolling terrain and a few towering volcanoes, of which Bromo is one.  We pile into the minivan and start the arduous trip to the northeast.  It's hard to tell where Yogya ends and the country begins - Java is so heavily populated along this route that cities, towns and villages segue into each other, interspersed occasionally with the ubiquitous paddy fields.  This also means the traffic congestion is diabolical, and we probably average around 40kph.  It's heartstopping looking forward out the windscreen - overtaking manouvers in the face of oncoming traffic are inevitable, but some unwritten law about who has priority seems to get us through, with no road rage evident at all.  A lesson for kiwi drivers!

I pass the time by chatting of course.  In the van are a Dutch couple (Marty & Wendy) with two impeccably behaved children aged 7 & 11, Sarah from South London, Sandra from Norway, a couple of boys from Zurich, and MarieClaire from Quebec.  I find myself sitting with MarieClaire, and amongst other things discover that at the age of 23 she speaks six languages, is completing a degree in anthropology, and on graduating will then tackle a Masters in comparative Indonesian religions, which will involve learning Arabic!  I feel suitably overawed until I discover she's absolutely hopeless at maths and science, and I feel much better.  But we swap stories of our respective travels, and discover she's on her way to Lovina in Bali too.

After 10 hours in the poorly aircon'd van we finally make the city of Probolingo, and transfer to another van to take us up into the hills to our accommodation closer to Bromo.  We're all exhausted with numb bums and flop into bed in preparation for a 3am start the next morning - well, we do want to see Bromo at it's best at dawn!

Now did I mention that Java is heavily populated?  This also applies to its scenic attractions, so we're just one of literally hundreds of jeeps grinding our way up to the viewing platform.  The road's not quite as bad as the one up Bokor Mountain in southern Cambodia, but it's pretty close.  The final 200m walk to the viewing platform has us jostling for space with thousands of other tourists, but MarieClaire and I find a little spot off to the side with no-one in front of us, and we settle in to watch the sunrise.  And spectacular it was as the sun progressively lit up the morning sky and Bromo and its companions sitting in a larger caldera came into view.

And the obligatry "I was there shot".  Yes, it is a bit cold on top of a mountain! Just as well I was warned.

But wait, there's more!  Back into the jeep and we're heading down to Bromo itself.  Just looking at it from a distance isn't enough - the visit isn't complete without hiking to the rim of the crater

and peering down into the steam vents below.  I throw a flower into the crater - everyone else seems to be doing it, so I guess it's supposed to bring good luck.  Things have been going pretty well so far, but every extra bit helps!